New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved actress-turned- minister Smriti Irani out of the Human Resources ( HRD) Ministry and put her in the Textiles Ministry.
Obviously, it means downsizing Smriti whose academic qualifications were challenged as ‘dubious’.
But her ouster from the prestigious ministry seems to be due to reasons which the BJP thinks are more important than her education.
The way she angered the dalit students of a Cntral University and the dalit communities in general is believed to be the real reason behind her exit from the HRD Ministry.
The suspension and the subsequent suicide of Rohit Vemula, a research scholar at the Central University of Hyderabad had raised questions about Smriti Irani’s conduct.
Rohit Vemula’s mother Radhika had said the BJP would be “decimated to the ground” if Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take action against Irani.
The way she handled Kanhaiya Kumar and the JNU issue was also an instance of sheer mismanagement.
BJP, in spite of its upper caste tag, has realised the need for closer ties with the Dalits and OBCs. Political analysts say that role of the backward communities in the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand is crucial and the BJP dumped Smriti for obvious reasons.
